Johnny Cash is helping to raise my baby...

I have found the most fabulous music. It is called "Hushabye Baby! Country Lullaby Renditions of Johnny Cash". It is all Johnny Cash music but it doesn't have any words and it nice and sweet and baby appropriate. It plays all day every day in my home. I personally find it to be rather relaxing. I am not even sure Lyla is really clued into it, but it makes me happy, which in turn helps me be more fun and festive, thus helping to raise Lyla. Thanks Johnny.

Jammies all day?

Lyla has these little fleece snap-up uni-suits with feet that all seem to have ears. I assumed they were just cute little baby clothes to be worn at will. It never occurred to me that these were pajamas and that she has spent the last six weeks of her life in them. Awesome! She has only worn real clothes once. It is such a struggle to change her clothes though, she really hates it. I also always feel like I am going to snap an arm off when I change her and it's pretty cold out these days. Maybe just a few more weeks, the little feet with ears still make me laugh.

The keeper of time...

I used to watch the clock when I was little. I didn't understand how time worked. I would turn the rocking chair around in our living room to face the wall clock and just watch the hands move. I remember doing this and I remember thinking how slow time moved. A half hour was an eternity. As time in my life has moved forward I have started to notice that the years are going by a little quicker and even the months are speeding up a little. I always had my days and weeks though. Only rarely did they speed up. Surprise... having Lyla has now caused the hands on the clock to speed up daily. I continue to be shocked when it is 5:00pm because I feel like it should be 1:00pm. Time is passing as an alarming rate. Lyla eats every 3 to 4 hours and if it weren't for her little mouse noises I am certain she wouldn't eat because I often feel that 3 hours will pass in about 5 minutes. My little keeper of time is the most fabulous new clock ever, I will watch her any day.

Something new every month...

In keeping with my goal to learn more about cooking this year I have decided to prepare a crazy new dish on the 30th of each month. Lyla was born on the 30th, so we will have a mini celebration for her each month and we will eat a fabulous new meal that we have never had. I would like for the meals to be completely out of my comfort zone and something that I totally thought I never could make. I will commence this on her birthday next November and make a beautiful cake for her birthday- one that I thought would be impossible for me to make. Baking is my favorite thing to do by far and I absolutely LOOOOVE birthdays so that will be exciting for me. For the month of January I am going to pick a Mexican dish. I think half the fun of this will be getting to read cookbooks all year long. What fun!!! I can't wait to see what I discover. I am also creating a cookbook for the farmers' market this year filled with recipes from farmers' and community members, so this will in fact be the year I learn about food.

5.5 weeks

It amazes me how quickly Lyla Belle is changing. She can clearly see farther and notices faces a lot more. She will watch Matt and I walk around and notice where we are in the room. When we smile at her she will now do a half smile and kind of look away in the cutest bashful way. Her little eyes light up when she smiles. A unknown amount of time has been spent trying to find what makes her smile. Funny faces and a stuffed moose whom I have given the personality of the overzealous new best friend that wants to tell Lyla about everything and talks non-stop. I can't say that she finds the personality I have given the moose funny, but perhaps the continuous shaking of him that makes his ears move. I'll take it though, it lets me see that beautiful smile of hers.

In the beginning of February I am going to be going back to work full time. Now is the time to get everything ready for the farmers' market so I am going into work on Monday mornings just for a few hours and then working for a few hours at home. I have quickly realized that I am not meant to work from home. Send me to an office and I am the hardest worker there. Let me stay home to work and could care less about the task at hand. I would make zero dollars stuffing envelopes from home. I am forcing myself to get some things done though. Matt is going to stay home with Lyla Belle once I go back to work. We are pretty determined to make sure we stay home with her. If it means a few sacrifices here and there, then it is totally worth it. Things always work out one way or another, so I am not too worried about it. I could not even fathom dropping her off somewhere right now- I haven't even used the monitor we have to be in another room yet- let alone across town. I do think that it is going to be interesting for me to go to work everyday while Matt is home caring for Lyla- we will see what lessons and shifts in thinking this will hold.

Let the running begin!

I have never been so excited as I am today when I went to my 6 week doctors appointment and she announced that I was all clear to exercise again. I have spent the last 5 or so months wishing I could go running. I had dreams of me running, crazy, I know. My goal is to run a half marathon this summer- I am pretty certain I will be able to reach that goal considering the overwhelming excitement that I have right now to go for a run. This is not normal behavior for me, but perhaps a new leaf has been turned... crazier things have happened.

A well-rounded decade...

It hadn't really occurred to me that we were not only celebrating New Year's but that it was also the end of a decade. A lot has happened in the last 10 years. I graduated from college in 1999 and have really spent the last 10 years learning, playing and growing up. My new years celebrating 2000 was spent at a camp where I had waaaaaayyyy to many cups of sangria only to be told well into the night that I probably should have had no more than two because it was so strong.... ooops. My new years celebrating 2010 was spent in my new house, with my husband, beautiful daughter Lyla Belle, Charlie, Alice and Hopsalot. I choose 2010 any day of the week. Don't get me wrong, the past makes me who I am today, but I am sure am happy today that I didn't have 14 cups of sangria last night.

My goal for 2010 is to become a more skilled cook. I think food adds excitement to anything, especially if it is good food presented well. I want to be able to have a book by the end of 2010 of all the new and exciting foods I have learned to make in 2010- a personal cookbook if you will.

Miss Lyla is getting more fun by the minute. She has started cooing and making little happy noises. She knows Alice is here and stares non stop at her. We are using cloth diapers with Lyla and that has had a steep learning curve. Because they aren't as absorbent as other diapers, she knows when she is wet right away, which means LOTS of changing and laundry. They have been good though- more cost effective and I am happy that they are better for her- chlorine free. She is awake for longer periods of time and has at least one 5 hour stretch of sleep each night. That has been nice for us.

Here's to a new year, filled with new adventures.